I love myself. I am proud of myself. What about you?

March 26, 2014

I am too fat. I hate my hair. I hate my eyes. I hate my clothes. I hate my makeup. I hate the way I laugh. I am not smart enough. I am not sexy enough. I am not smart. I do not make enough money. I do not clean enough. I do not cook enough. I need better style.

My question: when does this end?

When do we as women stop hating ourselves, comparing ourselves to celebrities, and beating ourselves up? I know that I can honestly say I am so guilty of that. I used to measure me as a person, by my looks. I was only happy with myself when I looked good. I was only worthy of attention or praise, when I looked good. That is probably one of the most unhealthiest ways to view yourself in life. I should love every part of me, not just my looks.

I think the second phase of my weight loss journey has taught me a lot more than when I initially lost weight when I was 19. I am now almost 25 years old; I am more aware, I have been through more than I thought I could possibly go through, and I have just simply grown up.

Losing weight takes a lot of inner strength. When a person's loses weight, you commend them on their body. "Wow your body looks so good", "Wow you look incredible" - it is all about the looks. In actuality there is a lot more to that. Losing weight takes determination and motivation. It takes scarifies and a lot of times choosing the road less traveled. It takes a lot of self discipline to change your entire way of eating and daily routines.

For the first time... I think ever, I love myself. I am confident, even though I am not perfect. And I am proud of myself. I have spent my entire life beating myself up and telling myself why I am not good enough and why I hate myself today. I have one body, one mind, and one soul. I not only want to take care of them, I want to love them.

I love myself and I am proud of myself because:

-I openly share my weaknesses with the entire world and I can take the criticism or negativity that comes with it. If I help just one person or prevent one person from making the same mistakes I have, it's worth it.

-I have been consistently hiking and I feel myself getting stronger by the day. It was initially so hard for me to do this, but now I am climbing mountains without stopping and even with speed walking.

-People have made fun of my eccentric hair and makeup choices, and yet I never change.

-I am fitting into clothes that I have not been able to wear in over a year.

-I am able to lift heavier weights and go longer and much harder on cardio because I am stronger.

-I have been able to get over heartbreak that had the potential to kill me and I have gotten over it alone.

-I have been facing new challenges at work and taking on more responsibilities.

-I have come to accept the gap in my teeth and think of it as a trademark. It's actually kind of grown on me.

-I am able to control portions when I eat and I have not touched fast food in over 6 months.

-I am friendly, outgoing person. I look for the good in everyone.

-I always try to give people compliments. Words are powerful. If you like or admire something about someone, say it.

-I have taught myself to always think positively and that my life is in my control. Thus, I live a full, rich life with a constant smile on my face and love in my heart.

-I have grown to appreciate my natural big legs and butt. As a child I loathed it. I had a big butt and legs even when I just a child. My mom has freakishly muscular legs, even though she has MS and hasn't exercised in 15 years. My dad has a huge butt for a male. Truly, it is genetics that has a part. Now, I love it and do not care that I will never be "skinny".

If you want to leave a comment about what I have written, that is great. But I challenge you, leave a comment and tell me things you love and admire about yourself. I want to know. Or you can write a blog entry like I have and maybe we can have a day where everyone links up. Let's get some self love and positivity in ourselves... there can never be too much.

20 comments

This is an awesome post! We are our own biggest critics! I am trying to change this around in my head. I use the time while I am running (the first 1-3 miles - which are always the hardest) and I talk to myself now trying to say positive things! I love my legs! They've held up through the years and always tone up faster than anything else. So I just tell myself that a lot!

ps - I totally would like to have a signature "thing" like your tooth gap!

This post is so amazing and inspiring Liz! It is so easy for us to compare ourselves to others and think about all the things we hate about ourselves. I've noticed that so many people are so negative now days, and it is getting even harder to be a positive person. I know that I certainly don't love myself near as much as I used to, and need to. In fact I am having a hard time coming up with things that I love about myself right now.. Um, I guess I love my eyes - they look different shades depending on what I am wearing.

LOVE this post!!! We should all focus on what we love about ourselves..and others...and leave the negativity out of it!

I have learned to love my butt. It used to bother me that no matter how much I weighed it would always be big. Now I realize that some people have surgeries to get theirs to look like mine. I love my eyes, I have my grandmother's eyes. They started out dark blue and have lightened over the years. I miss my grandmother so much, she passed away when I was in high school. So, every time I miss her, I look in the mirror and see her eyes staring back at me. I talked a little bit today about being frustrated with my work outs, but I know I am stronger now than when I started my journey. I love that no matter how frustrated I get, I don't quit. I am not a quitter.

I really admire this post. I was talking with some friends about CS Lewis's book Mere Christianity the other day and how Lewis writes that we show ourselves grace, mercy, and understanding, so that's the way we're supposed to treat others. That's when it hit me that I don't treat myself that way at all, so I do have a hard time showing those things to other people. Do you journal or anything? Or is this blog kind of your open book? Haha. I have thought about trying to journal through those things everyday because I would like to get to a place where I could write a post like this!

I did a post last week or the week before about tooting your own horn. It makes me sad that women hesitate to shout what they love about themselves but never have a problem crapping on themselves. You should be able to do both!

I love that I'm honest, loyal, that I look and feel fine without makeup, that I never miss a chance to laugh at myself or anyone/thing else (all in good fun).

I love this post! Thank you for reminding us that although we may not see ourselves as perfect (or others may not see us a perfect) there are still so many things to love about ourselves. We are, in fact, works in progress right? Hmmm....what do I love about myself? I think I look pretty good for 40 and three kids...I'm learning to embrace the fact that I will never have thin arms. I think my biceps (except they're more fat than muscle) are ok. I like my eyes; they're a deep blue. And I love my dimple in my upper left cheek near my eye. Depending on the day and mood; it's either where the angel kissed me or the devil kicked me (according to what my parent told me growing up!).

(1) I would love to do a linkup(2) I love the gap in your teeth. It makes your smile unique! My mom has one too and was going to get braces, but myself and my Pappy talked her out of it!(3) I love my eyes. I can put any eyeshadow and with the right eyeliner just make them pop!

You are beautiful girl! I have definitely talked down on myself way too many times, but I am learning to love myself the further I get into my healthy lifestyle.I guess the thing I really love about myself is my determination!When I make up my mind I am going to do something, I get out there and do it! I may fall a few times, but I always get back up!

So, I am twice your age, and have not ONE day of development beyond where you are at. I still struggle and question myself every day. I want to know I am worth more than my appearance, but in reality.... not sure. Thanks for being real, girl.

You are AMAZING :)I love the idea behind this post...I am trying to remember if this was one of my prompts for my All About Me Friday's. If not I am so doing a post like this soon - just don't let me forget...pretty please lolFor one I love my giving nature!

this is another great post, liz. my favorite types of posts are ones like this, when people get real, and get honest, and get deep. it makes it so much easier to relate to people when they talk about the actual real struggles that everybody has, but for some reason, people are so ashamed to talk about.

i would totally participate in a linkup for this. :)

and also, what i love about me.. i have a pretty great smile, and i am incredibly patient with people. :)

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